Catching medical errors: Father (and mother) know best

Parents of hospitalized children routinely catch medical errors and preventable adverse events (AEs) that medical professionals miss, a study published online in JAMA Pediatrics found. 

A study released last year found that using a distinct naming convention for infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit could reduce medical errors, FierceHealthcare previously reported. The researchers found that nondistinct names such as Babyboy or Babygirl for babies whose parents haven't get given them names increases the chance that medical orders get mixed up. Adding the mother's first name to the newborn's temporary name reduced near-misses by 36 percent.
To learn more:
- here's the study abstract
- read the Reuters article

EHRs In The ER: As Doctors Adapt, Concerns Emerge About Medical Errors

The ER’s culture and pace, for instance, can amplify the risks of human error that stem from an already less user-friendly system.  Read More

This KHN story also ran in Modern Healthcare. It can be republished for free (details).

Willingness Among Patients To Share Health Data

Survey Finds Willingness Among Patients To Share Health Data
	A new Pew Research Center survey finds that U.S. residents are increasingly open to sharing their health information with providers. According to the survey, about 52% of respondents say using a health information website that would give providers access to their records and simplify the appointment scheduling process would be acceptable. Health IT Interoperability et al.

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Slavitt, DeSalvo Clarify Upcoming Changes to Meaningful Use

1/19/2016, acting CMS Administrator Andy Slavitt and National Coordinator for Health IT Karen DeSalvo offered more details about the upcoming changes to the meaningful use program. Among other things, they noted that the transition will take some time and that current regulations -- such as Stage 3 -- remain in effect. EHR Intelligence et al. Read More

House Calls: Lessons Learned From A California Program For Homebound Patients

Glenn Melnick and coauthors studied House Calls, an in-home program managing care for high-risk, frail, and psychosocially compromised Medicare patients, to demonstrate how other in-home programs can learn from House Calls' structure. Although the program continues to evolve logistically, it persistently shows reductions in operating costs and hospital utilization per patient.
http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/35/1/28.abstract

HIMSS: EHR Use Associated With Quality Performance Benefits

A new survey by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society finds that the majority of health IT users have experienced savings and improvements in clinical quality performance as a result of electronic health record implementation. EHR Intelligence, HIMSS release.
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Telemedicine Reduces ED Visits by Senior Living Residents

A study published in Telemedicine and e-Health finds that telemedicine can help to reduce the number of emergency department visits among senior living community residents. The study included 1,219 residents of such communities, including 479 who received care via telemedicine. FierceHealthIT, Telemedicine and e-Health. Read More

4 ways to reduce non-emergency ER use

With emergency departments (EDs) suffocating under increasing loads of non-emergency patient, the CEO of San Diego's Scripps Health highlights several possible solutions in a commentary in Becker's Hospital Review.

Several actions need to happen to reduce non-emergency use of emergency departments, Van Gorder said. They include:

1. Non-emergency patients must seek treatment from their regular doctor, urgent care or other venue.
2. Hospitals must expand hours and locations, as well as treatment access points including telemedicine. One recent study found that teaming up with senior living communities to offer telemedicine visits reduces ED visits.
3. Organizations must rethink how patients with behavioral health issues are treated, including developing specialty care sites that can address psychiatric emergency, and foster closer collaboration among providers, payers, government and community services--with more funding.

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HHS' OCR Guidelines Clarify Patients' Right to Health Data

HHS' Office for Civil Rights has released guidance to help patients exercise their right to access their personal health information under HIPAA. The guidelines clarify the types of information covered by HIPAA's access rule, the exceptions to the rule and how it intersects with requirements under the meaningful use program, among other things. AHA News et al. Read More

CES 2016: Running list of health and wellness devices

By Jonah Comstock

January 06, 2016

The event once known as the Consumer Electronics Show, CES, is upon us once again, and once again we're ringing in the new year with a range of health and fitness device announcements from both established players and new upstarts. We've already reported this week on the latest from Fitbit and Withings, as well as Under Armour's new foray, with HTC, into connected fitness hardware. All that is below, plus many more health and wellness devices that were unveiled at CES this year.  Read More

Telemedicine 2016: A look Ahead

The Arizona Telemedicine Program Blog
Telemedicine in 2016: A Look Ahead
By Nathaniel Lacktman on January 7, 2016

Last year showed us that telemedicine continues to be an innovative alternative to traditional brick-and-mortar health care. The number of providers offering telemedicine services notably increased, and several states enacted laws requiring health plans to cover telemedicine. Here are four key trends that will drive the continued growth of telemedicine to transform health care in 2016. Read more »

Study Finds Most Nurses Believe Tele-ICU Tools Bolster Performance

A new study finds that most nurses believe the use of telemedicine tools in the intensive care unit can help them perform their jobs more efficiently and effectively. However, nurses also cite certain barriers to the technology, such as interruptions in care and technical problems. FierceHealthIT, American Journal of Critical Care. Read More

ONC Releases Final Version of 2016 Interoperability Advisory

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT has released the final version of its 2016 Interoperability Standards Advisory. The advisory includes more details, updates the six characteristics for each standard and aims to help realize the nation's "delivery system reform vision." Clinical Innovation & Technology et al. Read More

Telehealth Effective for Treating Patients With Mental Health Illnesses

A study published in the journal Telemedicine and e-Health finds that telehealth can be used to effectively and cost-efficiently treat patients with mental health illnesses. The analysis included a review of 59 studies conducted in the last decade related to the feasibility and acceptance of telehealth to treat patients with mental illnesses. FierceHealthIT.  Read More

State lawmakers introduced more than 200 telemedicine bills in 2015

All but eight states introduced at least one bill related to telemedicine to their state legislature in 2015, according to a new report from the National Conference of State Legislatures. State lawmakers floated a total of 200 bills across the country.
The Federation of State Medical Board’s proposed interstate licensing compact accounted for some of the bills passed this year. Eleven states (Alabama, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming) passed the medical licensure compact language in 2015, all by large margins. Only seven states needed to pass the compact to put it into effect.  Read More

PwC Report Identifies Key Health IT Trends To Watch for in 2016

A new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers' Health Research Institute identifies 10 health care issues that will stand out in 2016. Among other things, the report says cybersecurity will be a concern for connected medical devices, new databases will bolster hospitals' use of big data and use of mobile health applications will grow. MobiHealthNews et al.
Read More

RWJF: The future of nursing is clear

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) released its five-year progress report on the landmark study, The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health; this week, the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action celebrated this anniversary. The IOM reports that while significant progress has been made, there is still much work ahead. RWJF CEO Risa Lavizzo-Mourey urged nurses to “keep their foot on the accelerator.”
Read the statement from RWJF and the Campaign for Action >

PwC: Smartphone-connected health devices, behavioral health are top healthcare trends for 2016

Smartphone-connected device use, focus on behavioral health, and better databases for health information analysis, are within the top 10 trends in healthcare for 2016, according to PwC's annual Health Research Institute report. HRI also released results from a survey of 1,000 US consumers. Read More

Stroke & Telemedicine

Daily Headlines

Tuesday, December 08, 2015

Stroke Rounds: Telemedicine Shortens Door-to-Needle Time (Links to an external site.)    Nearly half-hour saved in innovative program (Links to an external site.) Read more (Links to an external site.)

Practices With NPs, PAs More Likely To Adopt EHRs

A new study finds that practices that employ advanced practice providers, such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants, are almost 75% more likely to adopt electronic health records than those that do not employ such providers. The researchers also find that advanced practice providers were more likely to be employed at large, primary care and urban practices. EHR Intelligence, American Journal of Managed Care. Read More

Patient Satisfaction Declines With Docs' Computer Use

A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine finds patients are less likely to consider their health care "excellent" when providers spend more time using the computer. An accompanying editorial recommends that providers ensure patients also can see the screen and explain why the computer is being used. Reuters. Read More

On the move with mHealth: Nurses develop mobile health tools

Courtesy of the GWU Milken Institute NEW AND NOW On the move with mHealth: Nurses develop mobile health tools Mobile health technology has broadened nurses’ horizons beyond what anyone could have imagined, giving them the ability to improve care and communication and educate patients in managing their own health. Read more

How hospitals' 'culture of secrecy' keeps error victims out of the loop

While hospitals closely monitor medical errors, the nation's third-leading cause of death, they seldom give patients and the public access to detailed information about them. To learn more:
- read the report (autoplay video)  Read More

Nurses' work environment helps outcomes, readmissions more than staffing

The nurse work environment contributes more to good patient outcomes and reduced readmission rates than staffing levels do, according to a new report from Press Ganey.
The analysis found hospitals with better nurse staffing and work environments tend to have stronger nursing outcomes, such as lower job dissatisfaction and burnout and intent-to-leave rates. Such environments are good for patient outcomes as well, as prior research revealed they reduce readmissions for heart failure, pneumonia and myocardial infarction, according to the report.  Read More

Top 10 List of Health Tech Hazards Released

Poorly cleaned flexible endoscopes that can spread antibiotic-resistant pathogens are the top health technology hazard that hospitals and clinicians should tackle in 2016, according to a new report from the ECRI Institute.
The annual list of technology pitfalls issued by the nonprofit research organization also includes missed alarms for medical devices and inadequate monitoring of postoperative patients for opioid-induced respiratory depression, which can lead to brain injury or death.  Read More  ECRI Site

EHR Adoption Comes at Expense of Doctor-Patient Relationship

The healthcare system is too focused on technology-based checklists and protocols requiring data entry by physicians, leaving less time for patients and getting in the way of productive doctor-patient relationships.  Read More

UCLA’s strategy for patient-facing apps inside and outside the hospital

Keeves talked about UCLA’s in-patient tablet program, as well as some remote monitoring initiatives. But the secret sauce at the heart of all the programs is not just patient engagement, but actual patient feedback. UCLA has a volunteer patient advisory board that reviews all changes to the patient portal.

“When you want to take your technology tools further, it’s really important to hear from the patients who use them what they need,”... Read More

Missed Alarms, Health IT Setup on ECRI's List of Hospital Tech Risks

The ECRI Institute's annual Top 10 Health Technology Hazards report includes several health IT issues that hospitals should pay attention to next year to reduce patient harm. The report states that missed alarms -- which previously held the top spot for four years -- continues to be a major concern. FierceHealthIT et al.  Read More

Study: Weight-Loss Mobile Apps No More Effective Than Fliers

A new study published in the journal Obesity finds that mobile health applications were no more effective than informational handouts provided during a physician visit in promoting sustained weight loss. Unlike other weight-loss research, the study was conducted over two years and focused on individuals between ages 18 and 35. MobiHealthNews, Obesity.  Read More

New Studies Find Promise in Online Behavioral Therapy

A study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal finds that online cognitive behavioral therapy can help treat anxiety, depression and emotional distress. Meanwhile, a study published in JAMA Psychiatry finds that online therapy can help prevent suicidal thoughts among new doctors. HealthDay/U.S. News & World Report, AP/Modern Healthcare. Read More